Intelligent Village – Vibrant India

Building Foundations for Rural Entrepreneurship

The Rural Scene

• About 2/3rds of India’s rural population engaged in agriculture, accounts for less than 1/4th of the National Income

• In 600,000+ villages (about 1000 people per village with per-capita income of Rs. 20 per day)– per capita GDP of Rs

10,000 per year

• Of the 135 million Rural Households, nearly 102 million have a per-capita income of Rs. 300 per month

102.1

1710

3.9 1.9 1 0.3 0.30

20

40

60

80

100

120

3 9 13 18 26 42 65 112

HH Income in thousand Rs/month

Nu

mb

er

of

HH

in

millio

ns

135 million rural households

Remote Eye Care with Aravind

Hospitals

Can we make a Difference?

• Can technologies make a significant difference?

– Can it bring to them health & Education

– Can it significantly enhance their incomes?

Components of Our Rural Development Strategy

National -

eGovernance Plan – enabling ICT as a

tool for development

National Rural

Health Mission with Rural Sanitation – improving rural

health & well-being

Strengthening Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan with

Universalization of Midday Meal

programme – raising levels of literacy and

educational attainment

Right to Information

Act – enhancing transparency

Comprehensive

Rural Development Strategy

Bharat Nirman – enhancing rural infrastructure

National Rural Employment

Guarantee Programme (NREGP) Act –

targeting lack of opportunities

Government of India’s NeG Plan

NeGP Vision

“All Government services available to the common man in his locality, throughout his life, through a one-stop-shop (integrated service delivery), ensuring efficiency, transparency, & reliability”

LandRecords

RoadTransport

Police

LandRegn

TreasuriesCommrlTaxes

Agriculture

IncomeTax

PassportVisa

DCA21

Insurance Banking

CitizenDatabase

CentralExcise

Pensions

National Action Plan on e-Governance

CorePolicies

Archi-tecture

GatewayBPR

HRDCM

Networks

IndiaPortal

CSC - A Network of

Rural Service Points

across the length

and breadth of India

Yes! A host of them and Successful too!

What we’ve looked at so far…Do ‘CSC Type’ initiatives exist in present times?

The CSC is an attempt to integrate and scale-up such Initiatives through National eGovernance

Plan

The ‘CSC Scheme’ – Rationale, Objective

• CSC - an important component of the NeGP is a network of service points across the length and breadth of rural India

• CSC aims to provide access to information, backed with relevant infrastructure and end-to-end services that would allow rural population, the opportunities to enhance their quality of life

• By enabling access to a large number of services like e-Government, education, health, credit, etc. the CSCs offer a solid foundation for the economic prosperity of rural India

The ‘CSC Scheme’ – Rationale, Objective

• A “CSC” is an internet kiosk in a village with PC+Internet+Printer, etc.

• A CSC would be serving the people residing in the village where it is located and also a catchment of population 5-6 villages surrounding the CSC Village

• Range of CSC Services – B2C(Sale of Agri-Products, IT Training, Railway Tickets, DTP Services, Digital Photography); G2C (Form Downloads, Land Records, Certificates, Online Application Regn., Mandi Rates)

• The CSC Operator (Village Level Entrepreneur) will be selected from the village and provided training. VLE will be responsible for running the CSC business and providing services to the villagers.

Contd…

Who drives the CSC Scheme?

• Government of India – Department of Information Technology (DIT) - Nodal

Agency for NeGP –CSC Scheme- Implementation– IL&FS – National Level Service Agency (NLSA) - is currently

managing the massive initiative of setting up CSCs in 1,00,000+ villages in the country

• State Governments – State Level Agency (SLA) responsible for coordinating

implementation of CSC Scheme

• Grassroots– Service Centre Agency (SCA) – Promoter of Rural ICT

Initiative – Prime Driver of Business and Service Channel Manager

– Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) – CSC (Village Kiosk) Operator

Challenges for the Scheme

Explicit

• Low levels of educational attainment of the rural populace

• Lack of awareness of ICT advancements

• Poor socio-economic status

Implicit

• Lack of understanding of PPP frameworks

• Lack of appreciation of alternate viable livelihood opportunities

• Lack of exposure to innovative practices, technological illiteracy

Opportunities Ahead………..

The Evolution Path

• CSC to evolve into a full-fledged catalyst for a two-way exchange of goods and services between rural India and the world

– CSC as a Focal Point – Value Sourcing from Rural India – Value-added Products/Services – Achieving the Service Pyramid

E-Government Services/Utility Services

E-Commerce / Online Marketplace/Market linkages

Education, Healthcare, Agricultural Extension,

etc.

Entertainment &Community Radio

Data Collection,Rural BPOs

Save Costs

Quality of Life

Social Development

Income Opportunities

Building Livelihoods

Aiming at the Services ‘Pyramid’

Opportunities for Saving Costs

Government Services• Land records• Registrations• Government certificates and forms• Electricity bill payment• Grievances redressal mechanism

Commercial Services• Data entry (affidavits, estimates, resumes, etc.)• Printing, photocopy, bill payments, online ticketing, digital

photography, document scanning, etc.

Banking and Finance• Extension counters for lead banks and micro-finance

institutions

Income Opportunities, Quality of Life

Income-Building • Agri-Procurement – e.g. ITC-IBD, Godrej Agrovet, Tata Chemicals,

Chambal Fertlizers, IFFCO…lately…Reliance and Bharti• Data Collection • Vocational Training and Entrepreneurship – e.g. MICO Bosch • eCommerce – national/international handicrafts procurement

agencies, trade portals such as e-Bay• Bill Collection, Public Grievance Handling

Developmental Services• Education and health services – Apollo Hospitals, Aravind Eye

Care, AISECT, NIIT

Quality of Life Services• FMCG Goods – e.g. toothpaste, nail-cutters, soaps, baby food, OTC Medicines, • Community radio• Cable Service Providers –community television• Astrology, matrimonial services, employment services, etc.

INPUT facilitation

Seeds, Fertilisers, Pesticides, Farm Machinery, Soil Testing

CREDIT facilitation

HARVEST & TRANSPORT OF PRODUCE facilitation

IRRIGATION facilitation

PRODUCTION RISK COVERAGE & PRICE RISK COVERAGE

STORAGE facilitation

Example: A VLE through CSC will offer a Farmer….

KNOWLEDGE / Extension Services Facilitation/ Alternate farming

MARKET INFO, Price Info & Linkage facilitation

Example: IETS Partnership with ITC

ITC-IBD and IETS working together on promoting e-Education (Pilot in 11 villages in Yavatmal)

Value Proposition

– Sanchalak: Round the year revenue potential and social standing

– Student end: Access to education solutions, which help improves their quality of education and their academic performance

– Teacher: Access to programs which helps improve their ability to deliver quality education and increase their revenue potential

Government Support….Viability of Rural Kiosk

• Government has underscored the need for support to achieve sustainability around e-Government services in rural kiosks

• Emphasis is on achieving ‘optimum support level’ that neither discourages or over-incentivizes the SCA/VLE, leading to under-performance

• Over the first phase of the project (i.e. first four years of operation) the ‘minimum’ Opex is nearly 2.5 times of the initial infrastructure cost

• Clearly, the bigger challenge is to cover the revenue gaps and associated risks which arise in rural markets

• To that effect, Government of India (DIT) has proposed a revenue-based governmental intervention and support, rather than a capital subsidy.

• Essentially the Government support will take the form of: – Guaranteed Provision of Government Services:Viability Funding– Debt Service Reserve Fund : Liquidity Support

Government Support…Technology & Connectivity

• Technology Architecture framework being drafted for hardware, software, connectivity options at• CSC Level• SCA Level• SPV Level

• The framework would be made available to the SCAs as well as States

• Initiated discussions with BSNL and other telecom operators for leveraging their rural footprint

• Assessing various options on Language Interface for providing multi-lingual capabilities

• Interacting with State Governments to assess their SWAN implementation status

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

• The SCA will drive the CSC business. Headquartered at a District or Taluk, the SCA will manage the CSCs set up in select villages, manned by VLEs

• SCA and the selected VLE will enter into a business agreement

• SCA will invest in physical infrastructure, develop portfolio of B2C, G2C services, tie-up with Technology Service Providers (TSPs), facilitate bank linkages for the VLE-CSC, train the VLE on new contents, mentor the VLE

• VLE using his clout in the village needs to assess the felt need for ICT-based services, build social capital and business opportunities, make CSC the one-stop-shop for the villagers

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

VLE Business Model

• VLE will invest an amount ranging between Rs. 15,000/- and Rs. 30,000/- as ‘Deposit’ with the SCA.

• VLE will spend on Selection and Training expenses ~ Rs. 2500/-• VLE will have to part with a Revenue Share + Fixed Monthly

service Charge to SCA

In return…VLE will have

• Income from CSC Services• Infrastructure Support for CSC – PC, Internet, Printer, etc.• Access to Training and Mentoring• Bank-linkage – Handholding support from SCA Field Staff for

Loaning Process from Banks• Revenue-Shortfall Support from Government through the SCA

Contd…

Business Model for the CSC Scheme

SCA Business Model

• SCA will invest in Physical Infrastructure, CSC Hardware and Software

• SCA will incur Operational Costs

In return…SCA will receive

• Revenue-Share + Fixed Monthly Service Charge from VLE

• Revenue-Shortfall Support from Government

Contd…

Critical Enabling Factor ...Rural Entrepreneurship

• To carry out all the activities outlined before…a single critical factor stands out …i.e., “Rural Entrepreneurship”

• Rural entrepreneurship, is community based, has strong extended family linkages and a relatively large impact on a rural community.

• A rural entrepreneur is someone who is prepared to stay in the rural area and contribute to the creation of local wealth.

• The economic goals of a rural entrepreneur and the social goals of rural development are strongly inter-linked.

Rural Entrepreneurship - A Novel Approach

• How does a Rural Entrepreneur or Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) get Created?

Usually, Personal Characteristics + Socio-Economic Aspects make a…VLE..

• However, VLE can also be created through a set of supporting institutions and through deliberate innovative action…. And this is where IETS steps in….

Deliberate Innovative Action … in terms of Education and Training. Rural Entrepreneurship Training greatly affects supply of rural entrepreneurs….thus is indirectly an important source of rural entrepreneurship.

Who can be a VLE?

Geography-wiseCandidate belonging to a Rural Location – Village, Gram Panchayat, etc.

Occupation-wiseAny Occupation….One who is running a small business in village, educated unemployed youth, retired government functionaries, Ex-Servicemen, farmer, etc.

Socio-Economic Condition Not relevant…

Personal TraitsSelf-disciplined, willing to serve the community, willing to learn and earn by put learning to practice

CSC – An Opportunity for Army Personnel to Build the Rural Foundation

• The CSC Scheme presents a good opportunity for the Army to retrain and redeploy its strong workforce in peace-time grassroots initiatives

• CSC provides a unique opportunity for Post-retirement pursuits. Every year around 20,000 army personnel of various ranks, retire from their Commissions.

• CSC Scheme is all about Nation Building and Social Entrepreneurship which is all about serving Village Communities through Rural Entrepreneurship

• Army recruitment drive could be further decentralized using CSC as Centres for Awareness Building, Promotion and Receiving Applications

• CSC can provide a unique platform to forge a win-win partnership [Advanced Technology + Disciplined Workforce at Grassroots] aimed at Rural Prosperity

How to participate in CSC?

• IL&FS-IETS is exploring the possibility of associating with the Indian Army in bringing the ex-servicemen and retired army personnel irrespective of their ranks into the CSC fold.

IETS believes…• The Indian Army provides a rich resource-base of

disciplined, capable and determined human force to reckon with for peace-time nation building activities

• A large number of Army personnel serving across the country in different ranks complete their commission term every year and return to the civilian fold – in most cases settle in rural areas

Contd…

About IL&FS - IETS

IETS Activities• IL&FS Education and Technology Services Limited (IETS) is

promoted by IL&FS

• Key Objectives - Making learning experience-led, interactive, insight-based and stimulating thereby improving the overall quality of education delivery

• IETS is also engaged in undertaking capacity building initiatives for government employees, village level entrepreneurs, NGOs, etc. in the realm of governance and rural entrepreneurship.

• Some of our Initiatives:

Initiative No. Trained

V-Governance Program, Government of Gujarat 2,25,000

V-Governance Program, Government of Rajasthan

16,000

Teacher Training Programs across 1000 schools 25,000

Computer Education Program 1,35,000

IETS Team

• 200 professionals with

over 90 percent working in the operative divisions and the core support functions

• Academicians, administrators, social scientists, policy formulators, consultants and technocrats form

part of IETS’s team. Such

diversity adds to the overall vibrancy and strength of the team

Partnering for Change.…

• IL&FS being the national level coordinating agency, seeks partnerships with like-minded organizations and individuals who share their commitment and passion to enhance the economic landscape of rural India through training and capacity building

• We would be more than glad to guide and

assist interested Parties in their endeavours

Thank You!